First Night®, Oil City, an alcohol-free, family-oriented celebration of the arts, has been held annually since 1998 under the sponsorship of the Arts Council. The event is funded by grants from the Samuel Justus and E. J. Luce Charitable Trusts, contributions from local businesses, corporations and individuals, and by sales of admittance buttons to those who attend. The low button cost makes the event more affordable than taking the family to see a movie.

Since its debut in 1997, First Night® has received high praise for the quality and variety of entertainment and experiences it offers. While attendance at the 2000 Millennium celebration topped the charts with crowds of nearly 6,000, First Night® has welcomed a steady stream of between 3,000 to 5,000 people who have come despite frigid weather. Shuttle buses transport people throughout the town to indoor sites where performances are scheduled. Revelers wishing to brave the cold are warmed at the bonfires throughout the city. People wear crazy, decorative hats, walk through rooms filled with balloons, parade down the street making noise, view two fireworks displays, visit their choices of entertainment options, sample great food and go home saying they couldn’t do everything that First Night® had to offer. Plans for First Night® 2010 are well underway, thanks to the efforts of the First Night® Committee and the hundreds of volunteers who assist them.

FIRST NIGHT® - December 31, 2009 (2010)

Box of Light Theater

Jim Haner - The Banjo Man

Scott Foppiano - Theater Organist

Charlie Caranicas Trio

Mike and Janet Reing - Fiddle/Guitar/Banjo-Clogging Appalachian/Blues/Irish
 

Tom Roberts & Susaane Ortner Roberts - Pianist, Clarinetist

Matt Gavula - Pianist & Vocalist

Gene Allen Children's Entertainer

Neal Jacobs - 12 String Guitarist

Calypso Gypsy's

Masonic Clowns

Community Playhouse

For further information:
call (814) 678-3017
or log onto the umbrella organization’s website,
http://www.firstnightintl.org